Punjab Police SP Salwinder Singh was ordered to take “premature retirement” by CM of Punjab Amarinder Singh for his controversial conduct, indiscipline and for bringing a bad name to Punjab Police Department.

Earlier, 54-year-old Senior Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh was being questioned by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the Pathankot terror strike. (PTI)

Punjab Police SP Salwinder Singh was ordered to take “premature retirement” by CM of Punjab Amarinder Singh for his controversial conduct, indiscipline and for bringing a bad name to Punjab Police Department. Earlier, 54-year-old Senior Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh was being questioned by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the Pathankot terror strike. The NIA tried to find out whether the senior cop had any role to play in the drug racket in districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur.According to official sources, Singh has been given a clean chit after the lie-detector test where NIA found nothing against him. CM Amarinder Singh signed the order, ‘Retire him Prematurely’ last Saturday As per rules it is mandatory for a state’s home department to give the salary of three months to the officer or a notice of three months in case he was to be relieved with immediate effect, according to sources.

The order signed by the CM didn’t make this clear. Salwinder is an accused in several other cases too. In a sexual abuse case, before he surrendered in April, he has declared a proclaimed offender. SP Singh was also accused in two criminal cases of sexual harassment and sexual abuse respectively. SP Singh is placed under suspension and lodged in Amritsar Central Jail. Referring to the list of incidents of misconduct, indiscipline, and criminal cases against him, Punjab DGP Suresh Arora had recommended premature retirement for SP Singh.

Singh claimed last January that he was driving SUV with his cook and a jeweller friend which was attacked and captured by the terrorists on the new year’s eve of 2016. He said when he was driving the car with his cook and a friend. Salwinder and his cook were thrown out of the SUV by the terrorists which they used to reach and attack the air base, he claimed. Salwinder’s friend Rajesh Verma throat was cut by the terrorist who was heading towards air base to execute the attack on the night of January 1. Later, Rajesh recovered from the attack.

In October 2016 Singh was also accused in a sexual harassment case after some policewomen filed a complaint against him. The case was registered before a departmental inquiry was ordered. Last year in August he was also booked in another case related to sexual harassment. The complainant had accused him of accepting Rs 50,000 for deleting his name from a rape case. When he was serving as an ASI in Punjab Police Academy at Phillaur another complaint of sexual harassment was made against him.